The Phenomenon of Gastrotourism as a Socio-Economic Factor of Territorial Development

Introduction. The invention of the steam engine revolutionized the development and improvement of transportation. Fast and comfortable long-distance transportation became a reality by the end of the 19th century. This fact had a direct impact on the evolution of tourism. Tourism has become an accessible and favorite leisure activity of people. In our time, tourism business has become an effective economic factor. For many countries with cultural and historical heritage sites or special natural riches, tourism is the main resource for economic and cultural progress.

With the development of tourism activity its typology expanded, new and new types of tourism emerged. Today there are differentiated excursion, health-improving, educational, business, religious, sports, ecological (farm) and other types of tourism. With the diversity of its manifestations, the main goal stands out — familiarization of the consumer with the culture of the country or geographical region [1,2]. One of the important aspects of the cultural identity of any territory can be considered authentic culinary traditions, which was a factor in the emergence and popularization of gastronomic tourism.

Materials and methods. The object of the study is enogastronomic tourism is an important factor in the development of territorial tourism. On the basis of comparative-historical and descriptive methods the concept of enogastronomy as one of the elements of cultural and territorial identity is revealed.

Results. The essence of gastrotourism is to acquaint the traveler with regional culinary peculiarities, the history of which may go back for centuries. Even more attractive and popular is enogastronomic tourism, which combines culinary traditions with the wine culture characteristic of the region. The art of winemaking reached a high level of perfection back in ancient times. Then wine production was not only an effective economic factor, but also a part of religious cults and even a sign of special status of certain social strata. The ancient Greek healer Hippocrates noted healing properties in wine. Modern historians draw a conclusion about civilization and degree of sedentariness of ancient peoples by the level of wine-making development. Interest in the culture of winemaking, its history and connection with gastronomy laid the foundation of enogastronomy, a scientific discipline that studies the rules of competent selection of wine to a dish, which helps to reveal the richness of flavor nuances [3]. Territorial peculiarities of local cuisine are determined by a specific set of products that are grown in the area under the influence of such natural factors as air, seasonality, soil, climate, water. At the same time, the uniqueness of regional cuisine is formed under the influence of historically developed mental, physiological and behavioral characteristics of the population, its religious views, the level of cooking technology.

The mood of a traveler going on a gastronomic tour is largely hedonic and consists of enjoying the culinary peculiarities of a particular country. However, the real goal is not limited to tasting unfamiliar exotic dishes, local wines and other beverages. Tourists who choose a trip with gastronomic theme, can through the domestic context to get acquainted with the material culture of the area, to learn the worldview of the people living here, their national spirit and age-old traditions. For many people this type of tourism has become not only a way to spend time and get pleasant sensations, but also a business, hobby, art, as well as a source of pleasant memories and new knowledge about this or that country [4].

Traveling with gastronomic purposes has been done since antiquity. However, the phenomenon of gastrotours as a special type of tourism was formed only at the end of the twentieth century. In 1998, the term «culinary tourism» was used for the first time. Its author was Lucy Long, professor of the Department of Ethnic Culture at Bowling Green State University (Bowling Green, USA). She studied the relationship between cuisine and winemaking in the context of the culture of nations and nationalities and saw them as a potential resource for the development of the tourism industry [5].

The first scientific work on this subject belongs to the American economist Eric Wolf. The scientist published an article in 2001, in which he revealed the essence and importance of gastronomic tourism and ways of its organization. Wolf considered culinary travel not only as a visit to local restaurants, but also as a whole set of activities aimed at getting acquainted with the local gastronomic history. These included tours of wineries and breweries, culinary festivals and master classes in the art of cooking local dishes, training courses and quizzes on the history of the region’s cuisine. The International Gastronomic Tourism Association was subsequently founded in 2003. Eric Wolf’s original research and successful practical activity were appreciated and the scientist was awarded the post of the president of this organization. Like Lucy Long, the scientist regarded cooking as a source of knowledge about regional culture and traditions. On the wave of interest in gastrotourism in 2006, the International Institute of Culinary Tourism was founded, which was responsible for the educational component of the program of the International Association of Gastronomic Tourism [6,7].

In addition, travel agencies began to be created everywhere, the specialization of which was completely related to enogastronomic travel. Despite the fact that American scientists were the first to develop this concept, Italy and France became the most popular as the most attractive culinary tourism destinations for consumers. These countries have a rich and varied gastronomic history and a globally recognized wine culture. Due to these advantages, Italy has become the most influential producer and supplier of culinary delicacies made according to traditional national recipes [3].

In the 21st century, gastronomy has gained the status of a scientific discipline. In France, the Institute for the Study of Taste, Gastronomy and the Art of Table Setting was founded in 2004. Its educational programs contain courses not only on the history and technology of food preparation, but also on country studies, cultural studies, neuropsychology of taste sensations, molecular gastronomy, as well as on the design of table setting and food presentation [2].

The experience of culinary education in France was such a great success and demand that such higher educational institutions began to be established everywhere. In Russia, the first culinary university was established on the basis of the Siberian Federal University, the Russian-French Institute of Gastronomy. It trains professionals in the restaurant business: managers, chefs and marketers [8].

Gastronomic tourism today is becoming an increasingly common local phenomenon, when tourists have a desire not only to taste local food, but also to learn more about its origin and production, thus benefiting the economy, labor employment and the consolidation of cultural heritage. This puts the topic of gastronomic tourism infrastructure development among some of the most important economic and socio-cultural problems to be solved at the regional level. The organization of complex gastronomic spaces, which connect a variety of restaurants and retailers within a single concept, has become an actual trend of our time.

This approach allows to create a comfortable living environment that meets modern requirements and, at the same time, to develop the already existing resource of the area. The main task of improving the gastronomic infrastructure is to create spaces united by one theme, to explore local production, which will later reach the regional level. The creation of diverse and multifunctional leisure areas of various kinds for all segments of the population. The culinary component of gastronomic spaces is complemented by various types of activity. Festivals, concerts, lectures, master classes and entertainment for children are organized on the basis of these complexes.

The problems of organizing infrastructure for gastronomic tourism formed the basis of the theory of territorialrecreational systems, the essence of which is to create conditions that provide all the needs of different groups of tourists. The essence of the theory is the methodological approaches to the organization of tourist space taking into account natural and cultural-historical recreational resources [8].

The modern theory of territorial recreational systems is based on the scientific works of the Russian scientist-geographer, academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences — Vladimir Sergeevich Preobrazhensky. His research dates back to the sixties of the last century, but the main scientific conclusions of his theory are of interest for solving the problems of the modern tourist industry.

The basic concept of Preobrazhensky’s theory is a recreational system. Its functional efficiency is assessed by a variety of criteria that have a socio-economic nature, first of all, it is the satisfaction of consumer expectations, maintaining demand and maximizing profit. As any complex system, it has many interrelated subsystems reflecting different levels of needs of tourism business [9].

An example of territorial structure is resort regions. The substructures of resort areas include: the spatial-planning structure of the area, the structure of service organization of holidaymakers and leisure activities, the structure of therapeutic and recreational recreation, the structure of tourist demand and, consequently, tourist flows, etc. Each of the substructures is aimed at performing its specific functions, the realization of which only in the totality of all components determines the effectiveness of the system as a whole.

Features of the organization of territorial-recreational systems in the context of gastronomic tourism has a number of peculiarities. First of all, it is associated with the types of consumers of tourist services. The main ones include the following categories of tourists:

Another feature of gastronomic tourism is its cultural and historical context. Globalization of world culture has become a factor in the erosion of national traditions in the gastronomic sphere. Interest in local culinary culture, which has not lost its identity under the influence of multi-culinary, is becoming more and more active. This emphasizes the attention of the tourism business to improve the subsystem of cultural and historical complex in areas with a known culinary tradition. This subsystem includes restaurants, culinary schools, small-scale production of authentic products, entertainment and educational centers and more. Often real cultural and historical sites are used to house them. As a result, the development of elements of this subsystem becomes a factor in preserving the cultural and historical heritage of the area [10].

Tourists visiting the country for gastronomic purposes often combine it with other types of recreation, such as beach recreation, sports recreation, health improvement, excursions, which are part of the subsystems of the natural complex. This entails the dynamics of the technological subsystem, the development of engineering infrastructure that provides the improvement of the territory not only for guests, but also for permanent residents of the area.

Another subsystem of gastronomic tourism, positively influencing the progress of the region — employment of the population. Gastrotourism objects are served by a large number of specialists in service spheres. In addition to cooks, sommeliers, waiters, restaurant managers, this industry employs guides and tour guides, hotel business specialists, medical workers and many others. In places that are centers of culinary tourism, related jobs account for a significant share of the labor market.

Discussion and conclusion. It is obvious that gastrotourism functions most successfully and efficiently in regions with unique features of cuisine. Gastronomic traditions contribute to the increase of local and territorial identity necessary for the development of tourist destinations. Tourists are often in search of authenticity and authenticity and are willing to spend considerable financial resources for this. At the moment, when for objective reasons foreign travel becomes inaccessible for many groups of consumers of tourist services, unique conditions for progress in the evolution of domestic and inbound tourism are emerging. Russia with its diverse ethnic culture has unlimited opportunities for the development of this tourist destination. At the same time, the Russian tourist infrastructure needs improvement and modernization, as there are many problems of managerial, organizational and economic nature. This puts the topic of gastronomic tourism infrastructure development among some of the most important economic and socio-cultural problems to be solved at the regional level [8].

The region of Rostov region, which is figuratively called the crossroads of cultures of the West and the East, is promising in the context of formation of territorial and recreational system of gastrotourism. In different historical epochs the territory of the northern Black Sea coast was inhabited by peoples belonging to the most dissimilar ethnic and confessional groups — ancient Greeks and Khazars, Scythians and Sarmatians, Slavs and Visigoths. In the later period, the uniqueness of the region was determined by the occupations and life of the free Cossacks. This became the basis for the formation of a cultural conglomeration characterized by a variety of features, including gastronomic traditions. Besides the historical factor, the culinary originality of the region was also determined by natural and climatic conditions — it is a land with a warm climate suitable for viticulture, fertile soil and abundance of water bodies rich in commercial fish. Therefore, despite the diversity of historical roots in Rostov region there is a stable and holistic image of Don cuisine that can attract the most demanding gourmet [11].

In addition, the region is famous for its artistic culture: literary, musical, theatrical, and visual arts. The combination of these factors opens up excellent prospects for the realization of investment projects to create objects of the tourism industry, among which enogastronomic tourism can take a worthy place, especially since it is practically free from the problems of seasonality. The formation of excursion and tourist programs in the Rostov region, focused on both group and individual tourism, can not only increase the inflow of financial revenues into the regional economy, but also solve many social issues related to employment, migration attractiveness, educational activities. Thus, the support of tourism, in particular, enogastrotourism, should be carried out at the state level and become a priority direction of regional policy.